St. David’s Day, “Calon Lan” and Happiness

Mrs. Samuel and I are delighted that the Grade 8s have moved into Samuel House and that they are enjoying the magnificent building. We hope that you all will be happy there, and that you won’t want to leave at the end of the year. You’ve got some wonderful staff looking after you, so make the most of it. We are both honoured and feel privileged that the House is named after us, and that the Samuel name will be on campus long after we have gone.

 

We are both very proud of our Welsh heritage and roots. We were born in a small Welsh-speaking coal mining village in the Swansea Valley in south Wales in the 1950s. We were educated there, taught there, and emigrated to Canada in the 1980s. Our boys grew up speaking Welsh here.

 

Every year on March 1, we celebrate St. David’s Day. Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus! St. David is the patron Saint of Wales, like St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Apparently, he lived until he was nearly 100 and died on March 1 in the year 589. He was a monk who spread Christianity throughout Wales by building churches and monasteries, and preaching all over the country. If you ever visit Wales, you have to go and visit the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline, and there you will come across the smallest city in the UK: a place called St. David’s with a magnificent cathedral.

 

St. David’s Day was special to us children, as classes were cancelled and school closed at lunchtime. We would wear traditional Welsh costumes and in the mornings there was an Eisteddfod – a concert where the students sang, danced, recited and acted. Following this we were treated to a Welsh soup called cawl, made with lamb and leeks. Dessert was always Welsh cakes.

 

The leek is our national vegetable – the story goes that St. David ordered the Welsh soldiers to wear them on their helmets so they could be distinguished from the English enemy. The daffodil is also worn by many. It is preferred over the leek by the English government as it lacks the overtones of patriotic defiance associated with the leek.

 

The story goes that during one of St. David’s final sermons the ground underneath his feet rose and as a result he could be seen and heard by all the people in the congregation. (Funnily enough, this Chapel is also on a rock.) In his sermon he said, “Be joyful, have faith, and do the little things.”

 

What do we mean by “Do the little things?” As far as I am concerned, little things are things like smile, look people in the eyes when you speak to them, say hello, respect one another. On campus, don’t throw litter, dispose of gum properly, and wear your uniform with pride. They’re all small things, and I can tell you right now that they’re important.

 

“Calon Lan” is big favorite of the Welsh (and yours I think, judging by the way you sing it). It is a Welsh hymn and there are many different ways of singing it. We are delighted it is the Samuel House hymn. The words are excellent, and I’ll dwell briefly on a line in the first verse:

 

 

Happiness must be one of the greatest gifts. There are literally thousands of books written on it. I have been blessed with more than my share of happiness, as Ken Dodd would say. I believe that these days the material world is too much of a focus for many of us. “Does it bring true happiness?” is the big question.

 

HAPPINESSISNOWHERE

 

How many of you saw the words “Happiness is nowhere?”

How many of you saw the words “Happiness is now here?”

The difference between “happiness is nowhere” and “happiness is now here” is how you see things.

 

I’ll ask you to consider this: the gift of happiness is not something out there, it’s wrapped up in your heart. What’s heart in Welsh? Calon. Calon lan is “pure heart.” As you look around you, notice those people who find happiness nowhere – they often see the negative side of life – and those who find happiness in the present moment. I know who I want to hang around with. Hang around with positive people.

 

Does this mean that you are born with a happy disposition and others are not? Have you ever noticed how a baby enjoys “now?” A baby’s favourite toy is not a thing but a moment. They have no awareness of the past or future. Instead, now is the whole world for the baby. As the old expression goes, “Why wait for heaven when you can have it now?” Not too long ago, when you were younger, you marvelled at every new smell, sight, and sound. You were full of wonder and imagination, even to the extent of annoying your parents. Why this? Why that? As young children we all had the ability to appreciate what was happening in every present moment as everything was so new to us.

 

When did we lose this sense of wonder?

 

We all want to be happy, but look at some of the ways we describe happiness:

 

 

Are we are confused? We use the language of pain to describe our happiness. And those terms also describe that happiness is out there. Happiness is not out there. People and experiences may help you discover your happiness within, but they cannot give you happiness. Notice how easy it is to be lonely even when you are in a crowd. Notice it is possible to feel miserable when you are doing fun things. Money and possessions cannot make you happy. Money can encourage you to be happy, but it cannot make you happy.

 

So the gift of happiness is inside of you. It is here. Happiness is not in things, it is in you. No thing can make you happy. Everything can encourage you to choose to be happy. You have a choice. Choose to be happy.